Who’s Hot

Memphis 
Prior to this season, the Tigers hadn’t even had a winning year since 2007. But after going 3-9 a year ago, Memphis has flipped the script under up-and-coming head coach Justin Fuente, winning nine and no less than a share of the American Athletic Conference title. The Tigers don’t harbor a single household name or sure-thing to play on Sundays, yet they’ve won six in a row, with their losses coming to Houston, Ole Miss and UCLA. If the program can keep Fuente on the payroll in 2015, it’ll be a minor miracle.

Northern Illinois 
New personnel. Same old results in DeKalb. In what would have been a rebuilding year for most, the Huskies rallied from an early deficit in Kalamazoo to capture their five consecutive MAC West crown. Western Michigan was hot and confident on Friday afternoon, but Northern Illinois has a champion’s muscle memory, which it’ll carry into Detroit for next week’s showdown with Bowling Green. 

USC QB Cody Kessler 
Kessler carved up the Notre Dame defense with surgeon-like precision Saturday, completing 32-of-40 for 372 yards, six touchdown passes and no interceptions. It was the junior’s sixth game of 2014 with at least four scoring strikes, giving him one of the quietest 36-touchdown seasons in recent memory for a Pac-12 pitcher. Kessler will never get the respect he deserves, but Steve Sarkisian is just thrilled to have inherited him at Troy. 

Offensive Coordinator of the Week: Ralph Friedgen, Rutgers 
Okay, so others produced bigger numbers in Week 14, but there was something poetic and redemptive about Friedgen’s offense spearheading the largest comeback in Scarlet Knight history … at Maryland, the Fridge’s former employer. Rutgers rallied from a 35-10 second-quarter deficit in College Park behind a rare pristine effort from erratic QB Gary Nova, who threw four touchdowns and no picks in the 41-38 win. 

Defensive Coordinator of the Week: Lance Anderson, Stanford 
Lost in an otherwise mediocre season was the fact that the Cardinal D didn’t skip a beat in Anderson’s first season as Derek Mason’s successor. Stanford clamped down on UCLA Friday, holding the Bruins to a season-low 10 points and 262 yards. Anderson has done a vastly underrated job of adapting to new personnel and a new role, making sure that the Cardinal maintained its tradition as one of the toughest, soundest defenses in the country. 

Stockpile more shares in … TCU 
It looked as if the Frogs might be on the Thanksgiving menu Thursday, having to travel to Austin to face surging Texas. But instead of falling out of playoff contention, TCU made its case with a statement 48-10 win. It’s won six in a row, with the defense now beginning to share more of the load with a Trevone Boykin-led offense averaging 46 points per game. Oh, and the Frogs’ playoff picture began to clear with a Mississippi State loss and an injury to Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett.

Clemson’s Freshmen 
If Chad Morris is the next head coach at SMU, some lucky coordinator is going to have a blast coaching the Tigers’ next generation of offensive stars. Clemson snapped South Carolina’s five-game winning streak in the Palmetto Bowl, with most of the production coming from rookies. QB Deshaun Watson accounted for 282 yards and four scores, Wayne Gallman ran for 191 yards and a touchdown and Artavis Scott hauled in seven passes for 185 yards and two scores. All three have three years of eligibility left. 

Madden Cover Material: Alabama WR Amari Cooper 
Marcus Mariota and Melvin Gordon are phenomenal playmakers. But Cooper might be the most unstoppable force in the game this season. The classic man among boys on the outside, he almost singlehandedly carried the Tide to a come-from-behind win in Saturday’s Iron Bowl. Cooper caught 13 balls for 224 yards and three touchdowns, his latest audition for being one of the top five selections in next spring’s NFL Draft. 

Bucking for a promotion: Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun 
If an offer comes his way, Calhoun might not want to pass it up, because his stock may never be higher. A year after going 2-10, the Falcons have nearly flipped the script by winning nine games, capped by Friday’s shocker over No. 21 Colorado State. The Rams entered Week 14 on a nine-game winning streak, but failed to become the first team in 2014 to defeat Air Force at Falcon Stadium. 

Bucking for a promotion: Western Kentucky head coach Jeff Brohm 
Sure, it was senior Brandon Doughty who threw eight touchdown passes—and the game-winning two-point conversion—in Friday’s stunning 67-66 upset of previously-unbeaten Marshall. But it was the continual guidance of Brohm in his first year as Bobby Petrino’s successor that Doughty’s breakout final season was even possible. The young coach is going to quickly become a hot commodity if he continues to engineer point-a-minute offensive attacks. 

He’s how young?! LSU RB Leonard Fournette 
The ballyhooed true freshman rushed for 146 yards and a highlight-reel trucking of Texas A&M’s Howard Matthews en route to the end zone, as the Tigers romped for 384 yards on the ground in Thursday’s 23-17 win. Fournette has gradually laid the groundwork this season for what figures to be a monster sophomore year as the focal point of the LSU offense. 

He’s how young?! Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes 
En route to an awful 4-8 campaign, the Red Raiders may have found a quarterback to compete with Davis Webb in 2015. Mahomes has come off the bench to throw 14 touchdown passes over the last three games, displaying poise and a comfort level within Kliff Kingsbury’s attack. The 6-3, 215-pound true freshman nearly rallied Texas Tech back from a huge early deficit Saturday versus Baylor, finishing 30-of-56 for 598 yards, six touchdowns and a pick. 

Can I be your agent … DeVante Parker? 
Louisville was down to its third-string quarterback, freshman Kyle Bolin, Saturday afternoon, yet still found a way to outgun rival Kentucky, 44-40. Bolin deserves a ton of credit for the way he played in an emergency role, but the rookie’s performance would not have been possible without the heroics of Parker. The big-play, next-level wide receiver lit up the Wildcat secondary for 180 yards and three touchdowns on six pivotal receptions. 

Start designing the Fathead of … Oregon QB Marcus Mariota 
Mariota is a machine running the Ducks’ offense, getting increasingly difficult to stop as the season unfolds. He made sure Oregon didn’t walk into a rivalry beaver trap on Saturday, accounting for six touchdowns in a 47-19 blowout of Oregon State. For the season, the future NFL star—and Heisman winner—has accounted for 47 touchdowns while only throwing a pair of interceptions. 

Georgia Tech 
So, the Yellow Jackets are a lot more than simply a product of playing in the ACC after all. The Ramblin’ Wreck never quit in Athens versus Georgia, even after falling behind with just 18 seconds left in regulation. For their perseverance, the Jackets will head to Charlotte to play Florida State with a five-game winning streak … and the confidence of having beaten the Dawgs for the first time since 2008. 

Team of the Week II: Missouri 
On Oct. 11, Mizzou was decimated, 34-0, by Georgia in front of its home crowd. Anyone who thought the Tigers could go on to win the SEC East would’ve been fitted for a thicker helmet at that point. But that’s exactly what the program wrapped up with Friday’s come-from-behind win over red-hot Arkansas. Missouri has found a way to win six in a row since that game with the Dawgs, and is remarkably heading back to a second-straight SEC title game under Gary Pinkel. 

Team of the Week: Arizona
The Wildcats earned one of the most profound wins in program history to move within a victory of their first-ever Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl berth. Not only did Arizona outlast rival Arizona State for the Territorial Cup, 42-35, but also a UCLA loss means Rich Rodriguez’s team is headed to a rematch with Oregon Friday night for the conference crown. RB Nick Wilson was prolific on the ground, while LB Scooby Wright continued to show why he is arguably the nation’s best defensive player. 

The ACC 
At least for one weekend, the Atlantic Coast Conference held the upper hand on the Southeastern Conference. In a rare role reversal, Clemson beat South Carolina, Georgia Tech stunned Georgia in Athens, Louisville rallied to topple Kentucky and Florida State remained perfect at the expense of Florida. It was a clean sweep for a conference that’s perpetually trying to escape the derogatory label of being a basketball league. Of the ACC’s 14 members, all but Syracuse, Wake Forest and Virginia are bowl-eligible.

Who’s Not 

Bowling Green 
The Falcons are in the MAC title as the East Division champ. But they’re stumbling en route to Ford Field, where Northern Illinois awaits. Bowling Green has dropped three of their last five games, including the last two to Toledo and Ball State. In Friday’s collapse to 5-7 Ball State, BGSU got trucked for 485 balanced yards, a bad omen for this week’s upcoming game with the Huskies. 

Is it December yet? Notre Dame 
Inexcusable. Sure, the Irish have run out of gas, and healthy bodies in certain spots. But their performance Saturday in the Coliseum was unequivocally dreadful, allowing 577 yards in a 49-14 loss to intersectional rival USC. Once 6-0 and in the playoff hunt, Notre Dame crawled to the regular season finish line with five losses in the previous six games. At one point turnover-machine Everett Golson was benched in favor of Malik Zaire, who was no better at providing a spark in the face of the Trojan pass rush. 

Being Voted Off College Football Island: Texas QB Tyrone Swoopes 
One step forward, two steps back. Swoopes is young, and needs time to develop his skills. But every time it looks as if the light is about to go on, he goes out and plays like a wide-eyed backup. Against TCU, which has not been impenetrable in 2014, Swoopes struggled badly, going 20-of-34 for 200 yards, a touchdown and four picks. If the sophomore fails to evolve in the offseason, his job will be up for grabs in 2015. 

Heisman Nopeful: Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott
While Prescott played decent enough versus Ole Miss Saturday, a second loss means he probably will not get an invite to the Heisman ceremony in New York City in two weeks. That honor belongs to Oregon QB Marcus Mariota, Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon and Alabama WR Amari Cooper. Prescott has had a dynamite junior season as the face of the Bulldogs, but he stopped being a serious Heisman contender a few weeks ago.

Start evacuating the bandwagon of … Texas A&M 
It’s going to be an intriguing offseason for the Aggies and head coach Kevin Sumlin, whose team finished the regular season by going 2-5. Sure, the second-half schedule was brutal, but A&M lost by at least two touchdowns to Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama, and dropped back-to-back home games to Mizzou and LSU. Just maybe Johnny Manziel was irreplaceable after all. 

North Carolina 
Shame on you, Tar Heels. With rival NC State in Chapel Hill, Carolina barely bothered to get off the bus, losing, 35-7, despite being favored. The Heels got absolutely trucked at the line of scrimmage, getting outgained on the ground, 388-30. While the Wolfpack will begin the bowl season with a tailwind, Carolina has gone 6-6 in consecutive regular seasons, a troubling trend for Larry Fedora and his coaching staff. 

You emit a foul and unpleasant odor: Virginia 
On Oct. 4, the Cavaliers were 4-2 and playing like one of the ACC’s biggest surprises. When the regular season ended on Friday night, though, they’d won just an additional game to finish below .500 for a third year in a row. And yet, it looks as if Mike London will be back to oversee Virginia’s commitment to mediocrity. Even worse, the ‘Hoos squandered a late lead to Virginia Tech on the final weekend, falling for the eleventh straight time to their in-state rival. 

Needing a vote of confidence: Al Golden, Miami 
How much longer can Golden lean on the problems he inherited? Sure, it was a mess when he arrived from Temple, but the coach just wrapped up the same regular-season record, 6-6, that he had in his first year back in 2011. And the Canes tanked down the stretch this fall, losing their final three to Florida State, Virginia and Pitt. Golden will be back in 2015, but if Miami straddles the fence of mediocrity once again, it could be the coach’s last chance to restore the glory at the program. 

UCLA 
Talk about an epic gag. All the Bruins had to do to win the Pac-12 South was what five other schools had already done in 2014—beat an offensively-challenged Stanford team. They were never even close on Friday in the Rose Bowl, despite the fact that the Cardinal was without its best weapon, WR Ty Montgomery. UCLA reverted back to its first-half of the year self, struggling on defense and failing to protect Brett Hundley. And with the stumble, Jim Mora’s team is assured of this season, likely Hundley’s last, being filed away as a disappointment. 

Team of the Weak: Michigan 
What a disaster. This season could not have gone much worse for the Wolverines, from the handling of the Shane Morris injury and the incessant offensive woes to the exit of AD Dave Brandon and Saturday’s latest loss to Ohio State. In a fitting end to a 5-7 campaign, Michigan competed for three quarters in Columbus, and then self-destructed after the Buckeyes lost their quarterback. For the second time in four years, the program is in a position to tear the whole thing down and start from scratch with a new regime.

The SEC, specifically the East Division 
It was common knowledge that the East was once again the little brother in the Southeastern Conference. But the weaker half hit a new low in Week 14, with four of its members falling to ACC programs. The biggest surprise came when Georgia lost Between the Hedges to Georgia Tech. Mizzou, which lost earlier in the year to Indiana, will represent the division in Atlanta on Saturday. And to make matters worse for the league as a whole, Mississippi State’s lost in Oxford, which means the SEC will not gobble up two playoff spots next Sunday.